Abstract
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit every facet of our lives, GuideWell leaders quickly rose to the challenge to make sure our workforce was safe and prepared to navigate these uncertain times together. They did this by simply living out our great culture that already existed and putting their values into action. Their values influenced every decision they made, from quickly pivoting to working remotely and ensuring their members received affordable treatment and testing to championing vaccination efforts and giving back to communities in need. Their culture and values make them who they are and ground them in how they respond to any crisis situation. And most important, as a health solutions company, they led with action in a caring, compassionate way, not only for their workforce, but for their members and the communities they serve.
TopHow Covid-19 Showed Our True Colors
When I was asked to write this chapter and share how GuideWell has lived up to our values during the first global pandemic of our time, my first thought was “Holy COVID!” But all kidding aside, as a company, we have learned what we are truly made of during this extraordinary time.
GuideWell is a health solutions company, and includes companies like GuideWell Health, which provides health care to patients, as well as Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan. Our family of forward-thinking companies touches the lives of more than 15 million consumers and interacts with nearly 500 non-profits to fulfill our mission of helping people and communities achieve better health (GuideWell, 2022).
During the pandemic, we have grappled with caring for our employees, communities and customers through unprecedented challenges, at a time when they needed our services more than ever to stay healthy. And we have learned the answer to the question every company asks of itself during times of crisis, “Are we who we say we are?”
The answer, thankfully, is yes.
For us, the story starts long before COVID-19 became a household name. It starts with our values, the values we share with every new employee on their first day at orientation:
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Respect
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Integrity
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Inclusion
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Imagination
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Courage
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Excellence
At GuideWell, our values aren’t just talk. We live them every day. Our values guide the decisions we make. They set the tone for how we treat our employees and customers and how we shape our culture. We want to attract and keep employees who feel strongly about these values, too.
Together with our mission statement, “To help people and communities achieve better health,” we let our values drive us every step of the way when we learned the new coronavirus was spreading in the United States in early 2020. Because our values are embedded so deeply into the fabric of our organization, our response to COVID-19 wasn’t about bottom lines; it was about caring for the people and communities we serve. And that always starts with our employees.
We believe employees are our greatest resource and that the better we take care of them, the better they can take care of our members. And at no time in our company’s history has this ever been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when our members and the communities we serve have needed our support the most. Our values of excellence and imagination guided us, because if there is any time to bring your ‘A game’ as a health solutions company, it’s when people’s lives are at stake.
We are dedicated to our customers, who we keep at the heart of everything we do. COVID-19 didn’t change that one bit. In fact, the pandemic heightened this commitment to take care of our members. We made changes to make sure they could get the care they needed, from offering $0 copays for COVID treatment to expanding virtual care options, and more. And although we closed our Florida Blue Centers in 2020 and for much of 2021, our nurses and staff were still supporting members on the phone to help them get through a really challenging time.
The values of excellence and imagination our employees bring to work every day have also sparked new innovations and ideas that are changing our organization and health care for the better.
And, last but never least, our values of inclusion, integrity and excellence guided us to support our communities in any way we could. We developed a partnership with Feeding Northeast Florida to help provide food to people in need. We also led the way to promote COVID-19 vaccinations across the state of Florida, not only to protect people from getting sick, but also to help bring this pandemic to an end.
These are just a few of the ways GuideWell rose to the challenge of COVID-19 and showed its true colors during these unprecedented times. In the next section, I will share more about what we have done to lead with our values first to make sure we are protecting our employees, helping members get the care they need and supporting the communities in which we all live and work.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Affordable Care Act (ACA): The Affordable Care Act is a comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 (sometimes known as ACA, PPACA, or “Obamacare”).
Florida Blue Centers: Florida Blue Centers help our members navigate their health care and talk to someone face-to-face in their community. Each of our Florida Blue Centers offers a variety of programs, classes, and events.
Blue Cross Blue Shield: Since 1929, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies have provided health care coverage to members, allowing them to live free of worry, free of fear. In every ZIP code, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a personalized approach to health care based on the needs of the communities where their members live and work.
Medicare Advantage: Medicare Advantage plans include all the same benefits covered in Medicare Parts A and B, and many of these plans offer additional drug, vision, hearing, dental and wellness coverage.
Florida Blue: Florida Blue, the leading health insurer in Florida, has been providing health insurance to residents of Florida for more than 75 years. Driven by its mission of helping people and communities achieve better health, the company serves more than 5 million health care members across the state. In total, Florida Blue and its affiliated companies serve 16 million people in 29 states. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
GuideWell: GuideWell and its family of forward-thinking companies are focused on helping people and communities achieve better health and are at the forefront in the transformation of health care. The not-for-profit mutual holding company includes Florida Blue, GuideWell Connect, GuideWell Health and Diversified Service Options, Inc.
Virtual Care/Telehealth: Virtual care, or telehealth, allows patients to have health care visits with their doctors and other providers using technology.
Pat Geraghty: Patrick “Pat” Geraghty is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation, Florida Blue and GuideWell Group, Inc.
COVID-19 Vaccine: The COVID-19 vaccine is designed to prevent COVID-19 infection or reduce a person’s risk of severe illness.
COVID-19: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.